All articles by Devin Gannon

July 20, 2018

NYC added 32,000 affordable homes this year, setting a new construction record

Via Pixabay New York City financed more than 32,000 affordable homes in the last fiscal year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday. This breaks the record set by former Mayor Ed Koch in 1989 and sets a record for most new construction with 9,140 affordable homes. But with the additional units come additional costs: The city's investment in the housing plan grew from $1 billion in fiscal year 2017 to $1.6 billion this year.
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62 New York City neighborhoods lack an accessible subway station

Via City Comptroller’s office

July 18, 2018

62 New York City neighborhoods lack an accessible subway station

By Devin Gannon

More than half of the 122 neighborhoods served by New York City's subway system do not have a single accessible station, a new report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer found. And out of the 62 neighborhoods dubbed "ADA transit deserts," 55 are in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. In his report, "Service Denied," Stringer details the gaps in accessibility for seniors and mobility-impaired New Yorkers and calls on the state legislature to create a new funding source dedicated to upgrades compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.
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$150M revamp announced for Central Park’s Lasker pool and ice rink

Via Central Park Conservancy

July 18, 2018

$150M revamp announced for Central Park’s Lasker pool and ice rink

By Devin Gannon

Central Park's Lasker pool and ice rink is set to undergo a major makeover, funded collectively by the Central Park Conservancy and the city. As first reported by the Daily News, the pool and rink will close for construction in 2020 for three years. The refurbishment will better connect the North Woods and the Harlem Meer, both currently blocked from one another by the rink.
Get the details

Architecture And Design

July 17, 2018

$1.8M Chelsea loft is industrial meets country-chic with tin ceilings and cast-iron columns

By Devin Gannon

While it measures just over 1,050 square feet, the design of this Chelsea co-op packs a punch. The beautiful two-bedroom apartment boasts unique touches which fuse an industrial and country aesthetic, from its ten-foot restored pressed ceilings to its original cast-iron columns. The loft, located on the fifth floor of the pre-war building at 107 West 25th Street, has hit the market for $1.79 million.
See Inside

Distinctive Homes

July 17, 2018

PHOTOS: Pier 55’s undulating support structure takes shape on the Hudson River

By Devin Gannon

Construction photo via CityRealty; Rendering via Heatherwick Studio Construction has moved along quite nicely at Pier 55, the on-again, off-again public park project funded by billionaire businessman Barry Diller planned for the Hudson River. While there was not much to show when the park broke ground in April, photos recently taken by CityRealty reveal new concrete pylons arranged in various heights. These will act as the wave-shaped floating park's support structure.
See the photos

July 17, 2018

8 chances to snag an apartment near the Pulaski Bridge in Greenpoint, from $2,270/month

By Devin Gannon

Via EXR A Greenpoint rental building located near the foot of the Pulaski Bridge launched a housing lottery this week for eight middle-income apartments. The development, dubbed Freeman's Corner, contains two buildings at 215 and 216 Freeman Street. Units boast oversized windows, polished concrete floors, built-in Bluetooth speakers and some feature private balconies. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which include four $2,270/month one-bedrooms and four $2,733/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

July 16, 2018

Live one block from the J, M, Z trains in Bushwick, from $1,979/month

By Devin Gannon

Photo via CityRealty Three middle-income units in Bushwick are up for grabs for New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income. Located at 20 Jefferson Street, the newly constructed rental building sits right next to J, M and Z trains at the Myrtle Avenue subway station. The apartments boast state-of-the-art appliances and on-site laundry. Available units include one $1,979/month one-bedroom and two $2,387/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Cuomo to investigate allegations of tenant harassment by Kushner Cos. at Williamsburg condo

Rendering via Morris Adjmi Architects

July 16, 2018

Cuomo to investigate allegations of tenant harassment by Kushner Cos. at Williamsburg condo

By Devin Gannon

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday launched an investigation into allegations of tenant harassment by Kushner Companies at the Austin Nichols House in Williamsburg. The announcement comes on the same day a group of 19 current and former residents of the building are set to file a $10 million lawsuit against the company for creating unlivable conditions from construction noise and dust and pushing them out to make room for condo buyers. The company, run by the family of Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, purchased the 338-unit property at 184 Kent Avenue in 2015, and has since sold or emptied 75 percent of the rent-stabilized apartments, the Associated Press reported.
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Policy

New Yorkers paid over $507M for security deposits in 2016, report says

Photo via Creative Commons

July 16, 2018

New Yorkers paid over $507M for security deposits in 2016, report says

By Devin Gannon

In addition to having some of the highest rents in the country, New York City requires renters to provide a substantial chunk of money up front to cover an apartment's security deposit. According to a new report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer, New Yorkers forked over more than $507 million for security deposits over the course of 2016. Stringer is calling for an overhaul of the city's security deposit system, which he says has created a financial barrier that has intensified the city's affordable housing crisis. "For too long, the deck has been stacked against New York’s working-class renters but we’re taking a step forward to reimagine how the housing system works in our City," Stringer said in a press release.
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Preservationists, LGBT groups push Landmarks to designate Walt Whitman’s Clinton Hill home

By Devin Gannon

A coalition of preservationists, LGBT groups and literary experts is asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission to reassess their decision last year to not landmark Walt Whitman's Brooklyn home, the last residence of the 19th-century poet remaining in New York. Located at 99 Ryerson Street in Clinton Hill, the home was where Whitman and his family lived between May 1, 1855 and May 1, 1856. While living at the home, Whitman wrote "Leaves of Grass," a collection of poems considered to be one of the most significant American works ever. The home is also one of the earliest extant buildings in NYC associated with a member of the LGBT community.
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July 13, 2018

Live just a short drive from the New York Botanical Garden, from $1,375/month

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Wikimedia A lottery launched this week for five newly constructed, middle-income units in the Bronxdale/Allerton neighborhood of the Bronx. Located at 2953 Barnes Avenue, the four-story building sits just over a mile from the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo, making the trip just a five-minute car ride or 20-minute bus ride. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which range from a $1,375/month one-bedroom to a $1,575/month two-bedroom.
Do you qualify?

Affordable Housing

July 13, 2018

Rotating panels at Storefront for Art and Architecture converted into shelves for books ‘yet to be written’

By Devin Gannon

Photo by Naho Kubota The iconic rotating facade panels at the Storefront for Art and Architecture have been reconstructed as mostly-empty bookshelves in an installation currently on view at the Soho gallery. Abruzzo Bodziak Architects (ABA) designed the sidewalk-encroaching shelves for the exhibition, dubbed Architecture Books-Yet to Be Written. As its name suggests, the installation "seeks to celebrate and evaluate both existing and the missing volumes of a history still in the writing." ABA's design will be on display until August 25 as part of the New York Architecture Book Fair, an initiative introduced by the gallery.
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Beyond Manhattanhenge: Find mini-henges happening every day across NYC

Photo via d26b73 on Flickr

July 13, 2018

Beyond Manhattanhenge: Find mini-henges happening every day across NYC

By Devin Gannon

While the biannual sunset that aligns perfectly between two skyscrapers in Manhattan is perhaps the best known 'henge,' it's certainly not the only one. Because every neighborhood in New York City features its own pattern of a street grid, each has its own henge days (h/t NY Times). An interactive map called NYCHenge displays where mini-henges happen for every sunset throughout the year, allowing outer-borough residents to snap a solid sunset picture nearly every day.
Find a henge near you

July 12, 2018

Michael Cohen optimistically drops $6.7M on a condo at Tribeca’s 111 Murray

By Devin Gannon

Photo of Michael Cohen via Wikimedia As Michael Cohen put his $9 million Trump Park Avenue apartment as collateral against a bank loan this spring, the former personal lawyer of President Donald Trump was signing a deal for a $6.7 million pad in Tribeca. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Cohen, who is under federal investigation, bought a 19th-floor apartment in April at 111 Murray Street, a 792-foot-high condo tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.
Get the scoop

July 12, 2018

Grow a green thumb this weekend with free activities at over 70 of NYC’s community gardens

By Devin Gannon

Long Island City community garden, photo via Quench Your Eyes on Flickr With nearly 600 community gardens across New York City, picking just one to join can be difficult. GreenThumb, the largest community garden program in the country, wants to help connect New Yorkers with local gardens by hosting the first-ever Open Garden Day NYC. This Saturday, the organization will celebrate their 40th anniversary by opening more than 70 community gardens to the public, with lots of free, environmentally-friendly activities.
Go green

Events & Things To Do

July 12, 2018

Is this 32-story building the next residential tower coming to Hudson Yards?

By Devin Gannon

Rendering via B.ARCHs A rendering has been released for a 32-story mixed-use building in the Hudson Yards area, between 36th and 37th Streets. The owner of the three lots spanning those blocks? Gary Barnett's Extell Development, the same group behind the neighborhood's 610-foot tall 555Ten. CityRealty uncovered the image from BARCHs, a New York-based architecture firm which describes the possible project as providing "residential, retail and parking uses to this rapidly developing neighborhood."
More here

Architecture And Design

July 11, 2018

For $2.7M, a Hamilton Heights townhouse with a pretty garden on a historic block

By Devin Gannon

A corner home located in the spine of the Hamilton Heights Historic District has hit the market for the first time in nearly two decades. Located at 381 Convent Avenue, on the same block where Alexander Hamilton once lived, a four-story townhouse is asking $2.675 million. Built in 1893 by John M. Cahill, the Romanesque Revival property measures 3,200 square feet, contains five bedrooms, four bathrooms and an adorable, private garden. Just a few houses down at 327 Convent Avenue, another historic townhouse is for sale for a $3.7 million.
Tour the townhouse

Distinctive Homes

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s five-acre Pier 3 opens with an interactive labyrinth and moveable furniture

Photo by Nicholas Sella

July 11, 2018

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s five-acre Pier 3 opens with an interactive labyrinth and moveable furniture

By Devin Gannon

With the opening of five lush waterfront acres of park at Pier 3 on Tuesday, Brooklyn Bridge Park is now 90 percent complete. Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, it's the final pier to be converted into parkland and features two lawns surrounded by shrubs and trees, which will offer both shade and protection from gusts of wind. "Brooklyn Bridge Park is a gem that gleams brighter with each exciting acre it adds, building on our borough’s commitment to offer high-quality open space that brings people together from all walks of life," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said.
Plan your visit

Architecture And Design

July 11, 2018

Construction begins on Extell’s 69-story tower, set to be tallest on the Upper West Side

By Devin Gannon

Rendering via Snohetta / Binyan Studios; construction photo via CityRealty With the neighboring Jewish Guild for the Blind officially demolished, construction has now begun on Extell Development's skyscraper at 50 West 66th Street. Designed by Snøhetta, the mixed-use skyscraper is set to rise 775 feet, making it the tallest building on the Upper West Side. The 69-story tower will feature a facade of excavations, that are meant to evoke the "chiseled stone of Manhattan's geologic legacy," according to the architects. As CityRealty reported, the new tower will sit next to some of the borough's most illustrious buildings, including 15 Central Park West and The Century.
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New Developments

As construction begins, cost of Bjarke Ingels’ South Bronx police station jumps to $68M

Image via BIG

July 10, 2018

As construction begins, cost of Bjarke Ingels’ South Bronx police station jumps to $68M

By Devin Gannon

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday that construction has officially begun on the new police station coming to the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx. The Bjarke Ingels-designed station house, located in Melrose at East 149th Street and St. Anne's Avenue, will boast the first community event space ever to be at an NYPD facility. When Ingels was selected as the architect in 2013 (the project's second firm chosen after the first contract expired), the estimated cost was $57.7 million with a 2020 deadline. After the construction period was extended from two to three years, the cost of the total project jumped to $68 million and the station will now open in the spring of 2021. "This new precinct will strengthen the bond between community and police, which will ultimately help make the South Bronx and our City safer," de Blasio said in a press release.
More here

My 600sqft: Inside the Upper East Side studio of two doodles and their social media savvy ‘momager’

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to social media expert and doodle mom Paige Chernick’s studio on the Upper East Side. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

July 10, 2018

My 600sqft: Inside the Upper East Side studio of two doodles and their social media savvy ‘momager’

By Devin Gannon

Paige Chernick’s Upper East Side apartment is immaculate, with everything in its place, no clutter in sight and not even one strand of dog hair. Besides the poufy poodles greeting you at the door, there are no immediate signs that dogs really live here. And then, upon closer examination, you’ll see the basket of plush dog toys in the corner, the framed photos of sister doodles Charlie and Sawyer wearing bathrobes in a tub and the spacious closet reserved just for their stuff. While you may not be familiar with Paige, who is a Long Island native and social media manager, you probably know her dogs. On a joint Instagram account (@puppynamedcharlie), rescue doodles Charlie and Sawyer have amassed over 90,000 fans from around the world, all who follow the adorable duo’s adventures across New York City and beyond. Self-described dog ‘momager,’ Paige has turned this hobby into a legitimate side-hustle. Paige and her pups recently gave 6sqft a tour of her spacious studio, which she describes as "metallic, minimalist and modern."
Meet Paige and her duo of doodles

Home Tours

July 10, 2018

Disney will move from the UWS to Hudson Square in $650M deal with Trinity Church

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Wikimedia The Walt Disney Company announced Monday it will move its operations from the Upper West Side to Lower Manhattan, where the media giant is planning to build modern production space and offices. Disney purchased the rights to develop Trinity Church's property at 4 Hudson Square for $650 million under a 99-year agreement. The site covers a full city block, bordered by Hudson, Varick, Van Dam and Spring Streets. "This move represents an historic step forward toward our long-term vision for our New York operations," Robert Iger, CEO of Disney, said in a statement. "The Hudson Square district is rapidly becoming a dynamic, innovative hub for media, technology and other creative businesses."
Get the details of the Disney deal

Real Estate Trends

Despite 200-foot height cut, 67-story tower in Long Island City will still be Queens’ tallest

Via Hill West Architects

July 9, 2018

Despite 200-foot height cut, 67-story tower in Long Island City will still be Queens’ tallest

By Devin Gannon

The soaring condo tower planned for Long Island City's Court Square shrunk in height this week, dropping from a proposed 984-foot tower to 778 feet, Curbed NY reported. This isn't the first height fluctuation for the building, dubbed the Court Square City View. Developer Chris Xu proposed a 964-foot tower in 2016, bumped it to supertall status at 984 feet in 2017 and now, according to the WSJ, the tower will rise just under 780 feet. Despite reducing in height by more than 200 feet, the tower will still be the tallest building in Queens upon completion.
Find out more

July 9, 2018

Army Corps proposes constructing hurricane barriers across the NY Harbor to stop flooding

By Devin Gannon

Via US Army Corps In response to intensifying hurricanes that have hit the New York and New Jersey coastal region in recent years, the U.S. Army Corps is proposing a handful of measures to reduce the risk of storm damage. The proposals include constructing barriers, either in-water or land-based, and floodwalls that would stretch over 2,000 square miles across New York Habor to protect the area's waterfront neighborhoods. The barriers, already being used in cities like Stamford, Conn. and London, would have gates that remain open to let ships pass, but close when a hurricane is advancing (h/t WNYC). After completing a study that looked at nine high-risk areas, including 25 counties in NY and NJ, on the Atlantic Coast, the Corps this month will present the proposals at public information sessions across the two states.
More here

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All articles by Devin Gannon

NYC added 32,000 affordable homes this year, setting a new construction record

62 New York City neighborhoods lack an accessible subway station

$150M revamp announced for Central Park’s Lasker pool and ice rink

$1.8M Chelsea loft is industrial meets country-chic with tin ceilings and cast-iron columns

PHOTOS: Pier 55’s undulating support structure takes shape on the Hudson River

8 chances to snag an apartment near the Pulaski Bridge in Greenpoint, from $2,270/month

Live one block from the J, M, Z trains in Bushwick, from $1,979/month

Cuomo to investigate allegations of tenant harassment by Kushner Cos. at Williamsburg condo

New Yorkers paid over $507M for security deposits in 2016, report says

Preservationists, LGBT groups push Landmarks to designate Walt Whitman’s Clinton Hill home

Live just a short drive from the New York Botanical Garden, from $1,375/month

Rotating panels at Storefront for Art and Architecture converted into shelves for books ‘yet to be written’

Beyond Manhattanhenge: Find mini-henges happening every day across NYC

Michael Cohen optimistically drops $6.7M on a condo at Tribeca’s 111 Murray

Make this lofty $1.5M Chelsea co-op your own

Grow a green thumb this weekend with free activities at over 70 of NYC’s community gardens

Is this 32-story building the next residential tower coming to Hudson Yards?

For $2.7M, a Hamilton Heights townhouse with a pretty garden on a historic block

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s five-acre Pier 3 opens with an interactive labyrinth and moveable furniture

Construction begins on Extell’s 69-story tower, set to be tallest on the Upper West Side

As construction begins, cost of Bjarke Ingels’ South Bronx police station jumps to $68M

My 600sqft: Inside the Upper East Side studio of two doodles and their social media savvy ‘momager’

Disney will move from the UWS to Hudson Square in $650M deal with Trinity Church

Despite 200-foot height cut, 67-story tower in Long Island City will still be Queens’ tallest

Army Corps proposes constructing hurricane barriers across the NY Harbor to stop flooding

482 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg

All articles by Devin Gannon

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